The New Orleans Saints fell to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, after spotting the Eagles a 17 point lead. Losing late-season games is not unfamiliar to the Saints organization. New Orleans was heavy favorites going into the Eagles game but this was the Saints third straight road game. There is a huge matchup next week with the Saints hosting the defending Super Bowl champions. It’s possible that the Saints were caught looking ahead. The New Orleans Saints failed the road test in Week 14 and set themselves back in the playoff seeding.
New Orleans Saints Fail Road Test in Week 14
This had been a tough stretch of games for the New Orleans Saints. Three road games for any team is difficult. Even playing below-.500 teams can be difficult. Often times, non-contenders “Super Bowl” type games are against winning teams. These sub-.500 teams will empty the playbook in order to beat these teams looking for a playoff push. If a team fails to get ready for every week’s game, then they can be surprised. The Saints were victims of this in Week 14. Philadelphia played one of their best games of the year against the Saints. The unknown of a rookie quarterback helped their efforts. The Saints top-ranked defense allowed the Eagles 17 points in the first half, a deficit too much to make up for the current offense.
The New Orleans Saints offense with Taysom Hill is not built to overcome the deficit they found themselves in on Sunday. They only allowed seven more points in the second half but the offense could not make up the difference. This is the first time the Hill-led offense has had to come back from a deficit. The previous three games were close so Hill only needed to manage the game. Hill did manage to score 21 points in the final half of the game, but he did have two more turnovers. He had his second interception of the year but his 11th fumble. If Hill is going to manage games while starting for Drew Brees, the turnovers are going to have to cease.
Road Scheduling and Outlook
As previously stated, this was the New Orleans Saints third straight road game. The Saints had to travel to the Denver Broncos, Atlanta Falcons, and finished with the Philadelphia Eagles. Of all the NFC contenders, the Saints are the only team that had this type of schedule. The schedules for the Green Bay Packers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Los Angeles Rams, or Seattle Seahawks did not have this type of away game slate. New Orleans has to play the schedule they are given and shouldn’t use this as any type of excuse but the difficulty of a three-game road slate cannot be understated. Sean Payton and the rest of the team did seem to be looking past this game, especially with the Kansas City Chiefs looming.
In order for the Saints to secure the number one seed in the NFC, they must now win their final three games. This will not be an easy feat. Two home games help with the first being against the Chiefs and then the rival Minnesota Vikings. A final away game against the Carolina Panthers could be a necessary win for NFC seeding. The Saints will then hope that the Green Bay Packers drop one of their final three games. With the way Aaron Rodgers and the Packers have been rolling, this does not seem likely. The Panthers, Tennessee Titans, or Chicago Bears need to upset the Packers for the Saints to have a chance at the top seed. The New Orleans Saints did fail their road test in week 14 but still have a shot at the top overall seed in the NFC playoffs.
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